In many computing environments, an operating system image is streamed to a client computer for loading of an operating system on the client computer. Often, a user's work area has a computer and one or more peripheral devices such as a telephone. When such a work area is configured, the operating system is loaded on the computer with the necessary applications, and then post installation configuration takes place. Part of this configuration includes manually configuring any software on the computer for the specific peripherals. For example, software that enables recording of a telephone call in association with actions on the computer is programmed to know what phone extension is being used with the client computer by manual input of configuration information by a user.
Traditionally, post installation configuration requires manual input from a user. This results in additional work for users and often creates errors in configuration. In other configurations, the configuration is statically encoded into the operating system image. Statically configured operating system images create difficulty in implementation of a virtualized work area where users use low cost thin client computers in differing work locations. Thus, it is difficult to present the user with a configuration that is customized for the user regardless of location.